New Medicare Legislation
Seeks to Close Quality Gap

By

Laura Landro Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Dec. 4, 2003 11:59 p.m. ET

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

Along with its sweeping drug plan for seniors, the new Medicare legislation includes the most-ambitious national effort yet to encourage and reward quality improvement in both hospitals and doctors' offices.

In an effort to close the "quality chasm" that plagues U.S. health care, the new law authorizes Medicare to offer new pay-for-performance programs that reward...